Overview

POSITION OVERVIEW: The Yoetz(et) Ruach Avodah is part of the program team and works in partnership with the local program director to support a group of 10-24 Jewish service corps participants.  The Corps Members live communally in a pluralistic Jewish home, work full time at anti-poverty non-profits in their city, and attend regular educational programming.

The Yoetz(et) Ruach Avodah partners with the local Program Director in planning and facilitating Jewish learning and fostering ongoing, meaningful Jewish community.  The Yoetz(et) Ruach is responsible for facilitating Jewish learning, leading ritual experiences, and providing one-on-one coaching, support, and spiritual guidance for Corps Members, as well as serving as part of the national educational team for Avodah.

The Yoetz(et) Ruach Avodah will report both to their local Program Director and to Avodah’s National Director of Programs.  This is a part time position, averaging 40 hours per month. The weekly amount varies from month to month depending on the program schedule and point in the year.

 

JOB DESCRIPTION:

  • The Ruach Avodah team’s work will focus on facilitating and supporting Jewish experiences that weave meaningful and inspiring Jewish moments into Avodah participants’ lives. This includes: leading engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking Jewish life and learning programs that help Corps Members: deepen their understanding of Jewish ritual and tradition; build a connection to Judaism that helps enrich their community and their work; increase their confidence in planning and leading their own Shabbat and holiday services and celebrations; strengthen their knowledge of how to organically draw connections between their social justice values and their Jewish practice.
  • Meeting with groups of Corps Members and supporting them in planning monthly Shabbatot and other Jewish ritual experiences;
  • Meeting with all corps members individually throughout the year to build a strong working relationship, support their Jewish development, offer spiritual guidance as needed/desired and help with their Jewish goals and path;
  • Providing additional, individualized mentorship or support as needed;
  • Working with the program team on how to best infuse ritual and spirit into our educational programming;
  • Supporting ongoing, intentional pluralistic community for a diverse group of corps members;
  • Contributing as a Jewish educator to Avodah more broadly, whether through alumni engagement, community teaching, writing, national program teaching, or staff learning.
Work Remotely: no
Qualifications:
  • Significant Jewish literacy and experience in supporting others in understanding or finding deeper meaning in Jewish literature, tradition, community, ritual, etc.;
  • Experience and interest working with people from a diversity of Jewish backgrounds, experience and beliefs;
  • Experience providing pastoral care or similar forms of emotional and spiritual support for people going through stressful or difficult times;
  • Experience or interest working with people in their early 20’s;
  • Familiarity with basic social justice concepts and languages;
  • Regular availability for evening programs and occasional availability for weekend programming.

DATES:

The work will begin in August 2018. We are open to long-term candidates for the position (who could potentially stay on for multiple years) and to one-year candidates (whose term would go through July 2019).

Position Start Date: August 1, 2018
Send resumes and cover letter to:

Avodah is an equal opportunity employer. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQIA people, and people who come from poor or working class backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please send a cover letter and resume to Kat Macías, DC Program Director - kmacias@avodah.net. Please use the subject line “Ruach Avodah - DC.”

About Avodah

Avodah strengthens the Jewish community’s fight against the causes and effects of poverty in the United States by building powerful networks of Jewish activist leaders. We achieve this through our many programmatic offerings including the Jewish Service Corps, the Avodah Justice Fellowship, our alumni network and our community education and engagement work.